


Moving On (This Staccato Heartbeat)

by MoonstoneDazzle



Category: Mystery Skulls Animated
Genre: Choking, Creampie, Excess Cum, Facials, Flavored Cum, Glove Kink, Light BDSM, Light Choking, M/M, NSFW, Possession Kink, Slow Burn, Vivi is bae, ask for additional tags, but not really?, ghost blowjob, heart kink, in this house we stan Vivi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-29
Updated: 2018-10-29
Packaged: 2019-08-09 08:14:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16446134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonstoneDazzle/pseuds/MoonstoneDazzle
Summary: Moving on from Lewis's death was easier than he'd expected. All of them wanted to find that new normal, figure out how they worked together now. The hard part was dealing with his lingering feelings for Lewis when Vivi took off, leaving them alone together for a month.Really, what could go wrong?





	Moving On (This Staccato Heartbeat)

For all of the tension that Lewis’s death had caused, for all that it had blighted the Mystery gang and driven Arthur insane, his return was surprisingly uneventful. Where losing him had been like losing a limb (and Arthur was very, very aware of what that felt like, thanks), he fell back into their group like nothing had even changed. Sure, it scared the shit out of people when they turned up to solve a mystery, but for the most part, it was just… normal.

There was a bit of tension, sure, but like. That was to be expected. Arthur _had_ been the one to kill Lewis (even if he was possessed), and Lewis had tried to return the favor… it made sense that there were lingering feelings. Fear, anger. Like, he got it. Really, he did. His own complicated crush-fear on his dead-best-friend wasn’t helping things at all. But, whatever. They would push through. Thank God Vivi was there to balance them out, or Arthur might’ve joined his good buddy in the afterlife. 

“Hey, Arthur?”

“Yeah?” He responded earnestly, even through the weirdness. At the present moment, they were tied back-to-back and suspended over a vat of lava. Where the creeps and criminals of the world kept getting weird shit like lava pits, he really didn’t know. What he did know was that Vivi was the smart one between them, and she’d definitely have some kind of a plan. That was just who she was. Hyperactive, enthusiastic, genius Vivi. Whatever she was going to ask him was going to be a totally brilliant leadup to them getting out of this alive.

“Why are you so weird with Lewis?”

His heart stuttered in his chest, worse than it had when he’d woken up above the lava. Bad guys? He could deal with. Monsters? Awful, but he got by. Ghosts? Well.

Ghosts were super linked to his feelings right now, and that just made the whole thing complicated.

“W-what do you mean? Things aren’t weird! Things aren’t weird at all! _You’re_ weird, Vivi! Asking is weird!” 

“And that’s a totally normal reaction,” she snarked back, and Arthur could practically hear the eye rolling. “You’ve been like. All over him since he came back, but then you freak out and pull away again. What’s going on with you?” 

“Look,” Arthur started, breathing out hard through his nose. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate your concern. I do! It’s sweet! But, like. Why are you focusing on this and not the fact that we’re probably going to die?!”

“Don’t be such a baby! We’re fine,” Vivi replied, with absolutely no shred of fear in her voice. Yeah, the whole loving her thing? Forget it. She was officially the worst person on earth. Arthur thrashed against the ropes suspending them, which ended up rocking the pair back and forth.

“We are NOT FINE!”

“Just like you and Lewis aren’t fine! Seriously, I thought you guys were past the whole death thing!” She argued back, throwing a well-placed elbow into Arthur’s back. He yelped in surprise, falling back into a resting position. Well, fine. If she wasn’t freaking out, then he wasn’t going to either. It was cool. He could be cool.

“We are! We—we are,” Arthur continued on, forcing himself to be calm. “It’s just, like. I don’t know? I really don’t know how to explain it.” Besides saying that he wanted to bone his dead best friend?

Hah. Bone. Cause. Cause he was a skeleton ghost. Vivi would totally laugh at that, if he ever told her.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were a kid with a c—oh. Oh my GOD,” There was a chill running down his spine now, which was really shitty, what with them being over lava. Arthur felt every muscle in his body tense, cause she had obviously put it together. Here came the judgment, the gentle letdown over her and Lewis being a thing. The friendship was over.

“You like him! You super-duper like him! You LOOOOOOOOOVE him!” Vivi squealed, way too excited over this realization. Arthur squawked and tried to swat at her, sending them swinging once more.

  
“Vivi, shut up! I do not!”

“You do! You totally do! Oh my god, it makes SO MUCH SENSE.” In retrospect, if the lava killed them? That was totally fine. Totally cool, really. Especially since Vivi would shut up and he wouldn’t have to deal with these shitty, dumb feelings.

“Okay! Okay, you know what? If it’ll shut you up? Fine! Yes, I like him!” Arthur barked, cheeks hot in a way that had nothing to do with the lava. “I do, and it’s weird, because I technically killed him—“

“—The ghost killed him, but go on,”

“—And he’s dead and a ghost and I shouldn’t find him hot, but I DO! Are you happy?!” Vivi didn’t dignify the outburst with any intelligent response, but gave a sort of delighted squeal from behind him. Arthur sighed, wondering if rocking them would catapult him to his death any faster.

“There’s nothing wrong with that! We all love spooky stuff,” Vivi started, way too chipper for the shit show that this was.

“ _You_ love spooky stuff,” Arthur muttered, earning him another elbow to the stomach.

“We ALL love spooky stuff, and a man in a well-cut suit is hot! It’s true!”

…The suit really did help. And underneath the glowing eyes and excess of fire, it was still the same old Lewis. Lewis, who was his childhood best friend, confident and sure and ready to face anything. Lewis, who had been happily dating Vivi, and—

Oh. Right. That… that whole issue.

“I, uh.” Arthur started lamer, a little more quietly this time. “Aren’t you like… upset? Cause you two…?”

“Cause we what?” Vivi asked, genuinely confused. She was silent a moment, and then suddenly snorted in laughter.

“Oh, what? Together? No way! Lewis is, like. My big brother. I love him, but not like that. Not like you do!” She cooed again, making Arthur groan.

Before he could manage a response, the door to the lava-lair was thrown open, revealing none other than Lewis himself. Arthur still wasn’t sure how a skull could show so much emotion, but boy howdy, it sure could. His brow was furrowed in anger, and Arthur knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of that temper. His hair wasn’t manifesting quite right, erratic sparks flying off of it, and the pulse of his heart was at an uneven pace, making him look manic.

It… was kind of hot, honestly.

God he wished he could tell Vivi that one. Cause of the lava. Why was he so funny when their lives were in peril?

“Lewis! Hey, hey Lewis! Up here!” Vivi called, waving her arms to get his attention. The specter looked up from the lava to where the hung, and the anger was immediately gone from his features. Instead, he was just… confused. But he made no move to rescue them, looking from the pair of them to the lava and back.

“Vivi.”

“Yeah bud?”

“You… you do know that you two are just above some nacho cheese, right?” He asked, clearly thinking they were both idiots. Vivi laughed, swinging her legs.

“Yep!”

“Then why didn’t you get down?”

“I needed to have some girl time with Arthur!”

“…Girl time.”

“Yep! Besides—“ she hit him again, and seriously, Arthur just wanted to die. Why wasn’t it actually lava? Why couldn’t he actually be plummeting to his death and spared this humiliation?

“We need a big, strong man to come rescue us!” She crowed, way too delighted to make that pronouncement. Arthur stiffened, face going red again, and yeah. Yeah, he was definitely going to kill her and then himself.

Lewis, for his part, seemed resigned to go along with her game. He drifted up to where they were hanging, and immediately set to burning up the ropes. Vivi was the first of them freed, and as soon as she could move, her arms were latched onto Arthur’s legs. He yelped in surprise, pulled to and fro as they started swinging. At the height of the swing, she let go, throwing herself over towards safe ground. She landed with a flourish, and at the very same time, the rope still supporting Arthur snapped. He screamed as he fell, even knowing that the vat below was only filled with nacho cheese. It was that feeling of falling, feeling that lurch in his belly once again.

_Like he had before._

Suddenly, his fall was cut short by something catching him. Something surprisingly soft. No nacho cheese gunking up his hair, no gross landing in the vat. And oh, oh. Okay. It was Lewis. There wasn’t anything weird about being swept up in your best buddy’s arms. Not at all. Especially wasn’t anything weird about liking the feeling of being held by said friend.

What _was_ weird was that someone dead could feel so _alive_. He could feel the swell of Lewis’s arms, the warmth that radiated off of him. The moment he looked up, Arthur knew he was fucked—even in death, Lewis was disgustingly charming. Concern on his face, even without a way to really show emotion. There was something odd in his friend’s eyes that Arthur didn’t know how to name.

Or the nacho cheese was finally getting to him. Either way.

Lewis set him down onto the ground, surprisingly gentle as he did.

“Safe and sound,” Lewis spoke, voice low and amused. Like there was actually any goddamn risk in nacho cheese. Arthur laughed in response, rubbing at the back of his neck.  
  
“Guess so. Uh. Thanks.”

It was way too much like something in one of those shitty romance novels that Vivi read, and Arthur had to do his best to put it from his mind. Not let himself think that there was something more in the way Lewis looked at him and just focus on wrapping this mystery up. It was all well and good, and he could just keep his head down now.

And if later, he let himself think about those strong arms holding him down in the back of the van while he jerked himself off?

Well. That was his own goddamn business, thanks.

 

* * *

 

The end of a job meant celebration, which, of course, meant booze. Vivi had been the one to fetch the drinks that night, returning with armfuls of alcohol and mixers. There was no way they weren’t going to get plastered, and Arthur was shamelessly excited. The doors to the back of the van were thrown open, music blaring out into the open night.

“Here’s to another shit show mystery with Old Man Jenkins!” Vivi crowed, holding up her drink. At the look of offense from the team dog, Vivi laughed, petting Mystery on the head.

“Not—not you as a shit show, Mystery. I said it different. I didn’t emphasize it like I would if it was your name. It’s. It’s the Mystery mystery. The mysterious mystery of Mystery.” She laughed unabashedly, throwing her arm around Mystery’s neck. From his seat on the van’s edge, Arthur glanced over to Lewis.

“Hey, uh. How much alcohol did you put in Vivi’s drink?”

“Not… _that_ much,” Lewis responded, seemingly just as amused and concerned as Arthur was. As usual, he’d taken on the role of bar tender for the evening. In Vivi’s case, Arthur wasn’t sure if this was a blessing or a curse.  
  
“Did you taste it to check?” Arthur asked, his attention now fully back on Vivi. She had taken Mystery from the van and set her drink down, trying to get the dog onto his hind legs to dance with her. Always the good sport, Mystery was fumbling along, even if he wasn’t in any way inebriated.

“Of course I did,” Lewis responded, the offense evident in his tone. Immediately after he paused, looking down to his hands. 

“…You forgot that you can down a bottle of rum in one go now, didn’t you.”

“Yeah.”

Arthur laughed as he cracked open another beer.

“Well, can’t get her un-drunk. Might as well just join in,” Arthur replied easily, and threw back his beer. Chugging probably wasn’t a good idea, but he hadn’t been kidding about joining in the fun. When the can was empty, he tossed it into the nearby trash they’d set up for the evening.

“Don’t tell me a single beer is enough to get you drunk,” Lewis almost sounded worried, to which Arthur waved a dismissive hand. 

“Dude, are you kidding me? It takes a lot more than one lousy Budweiser to get me drunk. It’s more like Buzzedweiser,” Arthur grinned. Vivi looked up, hard-wired to hear every pun ever made, and hooted her delight at the joke.  
  
“See? Vivi gets me.” As he grabbed another beer, Arthur raised it in a toast in her direction.

“To you, Vivi! You’re the other half of my soul! Probably the half with an arm!” Vivi raised her glass in response, the cocktail Lewis made her sloshing around. 

“I love you too, dumbass! And so does Mystery!”

 _That_ was doubtful, but Arthur wasn’t going to argue. This was a night for relaxing and letting go, not starting shit. Besides—if Lewis had forgiven him for (technically) killing him, then Arthur could get over a dog ripping off his arm. It was Fine. With a capital F. He just smiled, watching as Vivi waltzed away with Mystery.

When he looked back to Lewis, his friend was staring after Vivi with what looked like longing. Arthur frowned, and as calmly as he could, moved over to stand near Lewis. He hesitated a moment, then reached out to pat Lewis on the back.

“Hey. What’s eating you, man?”

“Nothing,” Lewis responded immediately, then seemed to stop. Arthur didn’t press, giving him a moment to just think. Maybe he’d continue on his own.

“I’ve got the two of you,” he started again, shoulders dropping a bit in defeat, “but… it’s still lonely, sometimes. You know?”

Oh. Shit. It was the real stuff eating at him. Arthur took a solid drink from his beer, and nodded.

“I’ve been there. Probably not as bad as you, but I’ve been there. You can be right with the people you love, and still miss them. Not even in that cliché in a room full of people and alone kind of way. But like… you’re out of step somehow. Trying to get into sync and just not matching up. So you feel like you’re doing something wrong, cause it can’t be your friends. But the fact is, like. Sometimes shit’s just weird. And you haven’t done anything, and they haven’t done anything. You just… have to try and keep going.”

After he finished, Arthur took another drink. It was quiet. Only the music filled the silence, wavering on the car radio. Every second that ticked by had Arthur wondering if he’d fucked up again—gone and ran his mouth off about the wrong thing. When he finally made himself look at Lewis, his friend started to quietly laugh.

“Arthur?” 

“Yeah?”

“When the hell did you get so smart?” 

Arthur laughed as well, rubbing at the back of his neck. 

“I’m not smart. I’ve just dealt with shit, too. And wanted you to know… you’re not alone. You know? Even if you feel out of sync right now, Vivi and I are still your friends.” 

Lewis gave him a gentle, playful punch on the shoulder and Arthur smiled.

“Hey. You know what would probably help?” 

“What?”

“If we got you laid.”

The punch was harder this time, but definitely deserved. Arthur cackled, hustling across the way to avoid any further harm.  
  
“It’s true, man! Even ghosts have to bust a nut, am I right?!”

“Arthur, I swear to _god_ I will kill you.”

“Are you BOOsting a nut? Is that more accurate?” As soon as it was out of his mouth, Arthur dropped his beer and bolted. He didn’t even have to look back to know Lewis was after him, hot on his tail as he laughed like a maniac. Vivi caught sight of them, and lowered Mystery to the ground to cheer for Arthur in his mad dash from untimely death. When Lewis caught up to him, Arthur just laughed, tears in his eyes as he tried to scramble away from his friend. The noogie he got was well deserved, and Arthur liked to think that—at least a little—this was the kind of night that might help Lewis step in sync again.

 

* * *

 

 

More often than not, they all did things together. Arthur, Lewis, Vivi and Mystery. It had only been during Lewis’s unwilling absence that they’d been without him, and as soon as they’d worked out their problems, he was right back on the team.

So now, being told that Vivi was taking off without them? It was kind of fucked up.

“You’re going to Japan? Without us?” Arthur asked, the hurt evident in his voice. Vivi looked up from her suitcases, her eyebrows raised incredulously.

“For the millionth time, yes. Yes I am.” Vivi responded, and went back to sorting her things. She didn’t even have the decency to look ashamed about it. Arthur threw himself over the suitcase, looking up to her with a pout.

“And you’re taking the dog! The dog! Instead of me!”

“Mystery doesn’t need another plane ticket, and won’t spend the whole time speaking shitty Japanese to my family.” The wound cut deep, and Arthur threw a hand over his chest.

“That’s not true! I speak perfectly good Japanese!”

“You barely speak good English, you doof,” Vivi snarked back, flicking him across the nose as she did. “Can you even ask for directions if you get lost?”  
  
“That’s an unfair accusation! You’re just as much of a weeb as I am! Probably more of one!” Arthur protested, rubbing at his nose miserably. Vivi leveled him with a look, her arms folded in front of her.

“Arthur. I’m Japanese. You know this.”

“The dog!”

“Is a part of my family history! And he’s important to figuring out why Shiromori was interested in me!” She snapped, finally shoving him off the suitcase. Arthur gave a whine, but the truth of the matter was, he understood. Did he like it? No. But her logic all made sense, and joking aside, he supported Vivi in like. All of her decisions.

“I know. I’m just gonna miss you.” At his response, Vivi seemed to soften, managing a gentle smile. She ruffled his hair affectionately, almost like he was the dog here.

“Hey! You’ll be fine! I’ll be home before you know it, I promise. A month isn’t really that long.”

“It’s only thirty one days, or seven hundred and forty four hours, or forty four thousand—“

“ARTHUR.”

“I know, I know,” he sighed, finally sitting up. Acting on impulse, he reached out to pull Vivi into a hug. She didn’t hesitate at all, returning the gesture immediately. It was the companionship, the understanding that he was really going to miss. How Vivi never laughed at the real problems, how she always did her best to understand him. When he needed a shoulder to cry on, she was there with cookie dough and shitty movies. When he needed an opinion, she was his voice of reason.

Being without her for a full month was just gonna be rough.

“Hey, look on the bright side. You’ll have time alone with Lewis!” She made it sound like such a good thing, and Arthur sagged his shoulders in defeat.

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m afraid of.” It wasn’t like they had the best history anymore, and lately it had gotten even worse. Looking Lewis in the eye (eyeholes? Bone holes? Whatever they were, now) had only gotten worse with every passing day. Every time Arthur dreamt about Lewis, dreamt about those hands all over him, he found it harder to be around his friend.

And he dreamt about him _a lot_.

“Chin up, alright? Either you fuck everything up and he pushes you off a cliff, and you’ve already gotten used to that, or you get that sweet ghost dick you’ve been thirsting for.”

Arthur made a noise like a dying giraffe.

“Vivi!”

“What? Are YOU gonna push me off a cliff, now? This isn’t Toy Story. You can’t get rid of Buzz Lightyear through the window this time!” She teased, but then paused, her expression suddenly going serious.

“Wait a second. Wait. I’m the only person in this family that hasn’t shoved someone off a cliff!” It was spoken with such tenacity, such seriousness, that for a moment Arthur was almost worried. When his brain caught up to him, his face fell.

“That’s _probably a good thing_!" 

“I feel so left out, Arthur! Betrayed! Left alone in this sausage fest! I wanna push someone off a cliff, too!” With that, she was gone, hollering for Mystery to come to the roof. Arthur pitied him, wondering if the poor dog wasn’t going to be thrown off the roof next.

Maybe it was good he wasn’t going to Japan. 

 

* * *

 

 

Thankfully, Vivi hadn’t actually catapulted Mystery off of the roof, and the rest of the time before her departure was rather uneventful. Even when she’d gone, things were… manageable between him and Lewis. Honestly, they were nice. Every day that passed had them getting closer to the way things had been, years ago. Sometimes it was working on the van, others it was just crappy Chinese takeout and video games. But it was… nice. His dumb, complicated feelings aside.

Sitting on the roof of the van tended to help him sort his thoughts out. The open air, the night sky, all the stars… It got him out of his own head. Let him think about other things. Things that weren’t how good it felt to be held by Lewis, or wondering how sex with a ghost would even work. Things like…

Okay, well. He was definitely stuck on the ghost sex thing, but so what? Even if he didn’t have the hots for Lewis, it was a hell of a topic. Sure, he could be contemplating the vastness of the universe, but that was Vivi and Lewis’s thing. He could definitely handle all the stupid shit in between.

“Arthur?”

At the sudden mention of his name, Arthur jumped with a yelp, damn near falling off the roof. As he sat and collected his breath, Lewis hovered near the roof, laughing quietly to himself.

“You scared the shit out of me!”

“I noticed.”

“What’s, uh. What’s up, man?” Arthur managed to make himself ask, not looking at Lewis as he did.

“Mind if I join you?” It was asked so earnestly that Arthur was caught off guard, finally looking over to his friend. Lewis had his arms at his sides, and on the surface, it looked like he was relaxed. There was just enough tension in his shoulders and the line of his back to betray the fact that he was not. Arthur blinked several times, and finally forced himself to nod.

“Totally! Yeah! Lemme just—“ and he was already scooting over, patting the roof of the van for Lewis to sit. Float? Sit-float? Whatever. It worked for whatever it was, Lewis moving to join him on the roof in staring up at the sky.

For a moment, they just sat there quietly, looking at the stars. It wasn’t the first time they’d done this—when Lewis had been alive, the three of them had spent plenty of nights enjoying the pitch black skies and the sea of stars on the open roads. It was just part of their new normal that they still held some tension, some unease between them all. It was all just part of learning the new normal.

“Can I ask you a question?” Arhtur asked, wincing internally at the stupidity of it. Asking to ask a question was a question, dumbass. But like. It was still that olive branch, still that attempt at making things feel like they had. Lewis looked over to him finally, an owlish sort of blink as he did.

“Sure.”

“Do you… I mean. Fuck, this is stupid. Cause I know the answer is yes, but like. I guess I wanna know the why,” Arthur fumbled, forcing the words out. “But. Do you miss being…”

“Alive?” Lewis interrupted, and Arthur nodded gently. Surprisingly, his friend didn’t seem mad, or even upset. Just resigned. But he never looked away, even as he seemed to be thinking on the question.

“Yeah.”

“I figured… like. Vivi would probably dig being a ghost. It seems like you can do some really cool shit, you know?” He continued, soliciting another of those soft laughs from Lewis that he loved. The kind of laugh that meant he was listening, appreciating the stupid shit coming out of his mouth and not judging him.

“I miss food,” Lewis seemed to agree, still quiet in the stillness of the night. Arthur finally made himself shut up, giving Lewis room to talk. This—the whole dead thing—it wasn’t something they ever really talked about. So the fact that Lewis was opening up to him, sharing like this.

“Yeah?”

“Bread, especially. And don’t laugh at that,” Lewis scolded, reaching over to swat Arthur before he could do so much as giggle. But of course it was funny—once a cook, always a cook. Even in death, he figured.

“But I don’t need to eat, and from what I can tell, I can’t. I know I remember how things tasted, but it’s all memories now. Not anything I’ll get to experience ever again.” 

That wasn’t something Arthur had really considered, but Lewis was clearly torn up about it. Not enough to cry—he’d basically never seen him cry, only when he’d been furious to tears. It was in his voice, though. That sort of melancholy that betrayed how much thought he’d given this, how miserable he must’ve been watching him and Vivi eat. In a dumb moment of sincere sympathy, Arthur reached over and patted Lewis on the back. More surprising was that Lewis shifted to lean against his shoulder, suddenly vulnerable and… smaller.

“I don’t know how I could function without Cheetos,” Arthur agreed. Lewis immediately groaned, burying his face in his hands.

“Your taste is absolutely awful, and it’s criminal you get to eat when I don’t.”  
  
“Hey, hey! Plenty of people like Cheetos! At least I’m not like Vivi and her weird macaroni and cheese with ranch and ketchup together!” Arthur beamed at the retort, only for Lewis to immediately shove him. Totally worth it.

“One, that doesn’t excuse it, and two, we agreed _never to talk about that again_. We swore on it, Arthur." 

“I know, I know. I just… you know me. Shitty jokes are how I cope.”

“I do,” Lewis agreed, back to that same gentle voice that Arthur didn’t know how to deal with. He swallowed thickly, staring at the empty night sky. Definitely not thinking about how nice this was.

“What else?”

“Hm?”

“What else do you miss?” Arthur continued, pressing even more. Lewis was quiet again, always thinking over his words. Always being reasonable.

“Sleeping.”

“Wha—really?” Arthur balked, actually surprised. Eating, he could get. But sleep was something he probably wouldn’t have thought of, even with more time to brainstorm.

“Yeah.”

“How come?” He asked, genuinely curious. Lewis hesitated a moment, then shifted back into leaning against Arthur as he answered. 

“…It’s a time to turn your brain off. To just relax and be at peace, without having to think or exist. Everything gets to rest and reset, and the world always looks a little better in the morning.”

That… made sense. Especially when Lewis put it like that. But that was the kind of guy Lewis was—he could tell you anything and get you to believe it. Not through any kind of manipulation or anything, but just. How passionate he got. How honest and raw he tended to be. Even with something as goofy sounding as missing sleep.

“So then… you just don’t sleep or anything? What do you do instead?”

It was so weird, Lewis’s reaction. He still _seemed_ calm, but the purple-pink aura that served as his hair and his ghost powers overtook his whole face. If Arthur didn’t know any better, he’d say his friend was—

“…Lewis? Are you _blushing_?”

“Okay. Okay, don’t freak out.”

“I won’t! I promise,” Arthur lied, somehow keeping his tone even.

“You don’t get to freak out.”

“I won’t! Just say it so I don’t freak out more!” That only had Lewis glowing and flustered even more, which—yeah. That was gonna make Arthur freak out. His friend muttered something almost silently, and Arthur ribbed him 

“Didn’t hear you, man.”

“I watch you sleep.”

Well.

Okay then.

That.  
  
That definitely wasn’t what he’d been expecting. Somehow, Arthur had been sure it would be researching ghosts or even practicing with his ghosts powers, not… watching him sleep. It was weird—fucking creepy, honestly—but…

He wasn’t even upset about it.

Just…

“Oh,” Arthur managed to respond, in perfect intelligence and reason. 

“I-it’s not just you! Vivi too!” Lewis interjected, face going darker. Arthur pulled away to look at him, frowning.

“That—that doesn’t make it better, dude!”

“Not in a creepy way! It’s—“ Lewis ran a hand through his hair, a gesture he’d done when he was nervous even when he was alive. He made a disgruntled noise, turning back to Arthur with a pleading look.

“I just want to make sure you two are _safe_.”

…Oh.

“Lewis,” Arthur choked out, voice suddenly raw.

“I spent so long hunting you two, I nearly killed you, and—and I just want to make sure nothing ever hurts you again. Not if I can help it. You and Vivi are all I have left, and… and I can’t lose you. Not again.”

It was the straw that broke the camel’s back, and Arthur moved before he could even think. As best as he could, he pulled Lewis into a hug, arms wrapped around his waist. Lewis was only tense for a moment, but quickly melted into the gesture. It wasn’t even anything romantic, nothing pushing into the territory of Arthur’s dreams. 

The poor guy just needed a fucking hug.

“Hey. Lewis. Buddy,” Arthur murmured, not letting go of his friend. Lewis didn’t seem to be pulling back either, apparently in desperate need of the affection. 

“You know we’ve moved on, right? Nobody’s mad at you anymore. Not me, not Vivi. I can’t speak for Mystery, cause he’s some weird-ass dog-demon thing, but… we’re just glad to have you back. Okay? And don’t ever forget that.”

They stayed like that for a long while, Arthur relaxed against Lewis and Lewis holding onto him like his life depended on it. It was just the two of them, the night sky stretching out like an endless ocean in every direction around them. Really, they both needed it. This… honesty. Trying to get back to where they’d been.

When the silence finally broke over the gentle hum of crickets, it was Lewis who spoke first.

“Thank you, Arthur. For… for everything.”

“Of course, man. What are friends for? I’d bet you anything Vivi would say the same thing. You, me, her. We’re all in this for the long haul.”

They weren’t perfect, not by a long shot. But they were better. Even when they pulled apart, Arthur stayed on the roof through the night, eventually nodding off under the open sky.

It didn’t even bother him that Lewis might be watching.

 

* * *

  

When the video turned on, for a moment, Arthur had no idea which member of Vivi’s family had answered instead of her. The young woman on the other end was in a stunning dress, her hair cascading around her face to perfectly frame it. If Arthur liked women at all, he could see himself being into her. But the big question was… who was she?

“Hey dummy,” she finally spoke, plopping down onto the chair in frame. Arthur openly gawked, his jaw damn near hitting the floor.

“V-vivi?”

“Who else would it be?” Vivi replied, brow raised. Arthur gave an appreciative whistle, and his friend’s face went pink.

“You clean up good! I didn’t even recognize you!” He gushed, leaning against one hand and grinning. In response, Vivi’s face went an even darker red.

“What, are you saying I look bad normally?”

“No! But normally I see you in a hoodie and pink shades! I can, like. See your face and everything! You look amazing,” he insisted, and that seemed to do it. While still embarrassed, Vivi seemed a good deal less defensive.

“Thanks,” She laughed nervously, fiddling with her hair. “My grandma is throwing this big, fancy party and wanted me to be there. And it’s all black tie, so…”

“You’re gonna knock ‘em dead. Seriously.”

“Well, I’m really just hoping to talk to grandma about the family history. We’ll see how it goes, though,” Vivi added, hand dropping to her side as she moved to a more comfortable topic. There was a noticeable change in how she sat up, attention moving on to topics she liked: family history, ghosts, Mystery’s mysteries.

“How’re things going with you and Lewis?”

Or ruining his life. That was another topic she really enjoyed. 

“They’re, uh. They’re better.” 

“Yyyeeessss?” 

Arthur managed to make himself smile, somehow not rising to the bait.

“Yeah. We talked about some stuff, you know? Got a few things off our chests.” Mostly Lewis got stuff off his chest, but that was fine. Arthur was just glad to be moving back towards a normal relationship. Even if anything more than friendship was stuck as a dream, it was good to have Lewis back in his life.

“I’m glad. I know you really missed him,” Vivi agreed, and this time there wasn’t any teasing in it. That was one of the great things about having her as a friend—she knew when it was time to cut the crap and be real. Having someone he could be himself around was a blessing.

“I’m just glad he’s getting back to being okay. I know things won’t ever be the same again, but… it really seems like he’s found some peace. You know?”

Halfway around the world, Vivi smiled.

“It seems like you have, too." 

And it really was good to hear from her again. The family was good, and so far Mystery hadn’t gotten up to too much trouble. Vivi had even managed to squeeze him into a little doggy-sized tux for the party, and he looked completely and totally miserable. 

It was a fucking miracle Arthur didn’t laugh.

By the time they’d wrapped up talking, the sun was setting behind Vivi, casting her in a sort of ethereal glow. All in all, she looked stunning.

“Don’t go wooing any poor boys that don’t know what you’re capable of, babe,” Arthur finally told her, a goofy smile on his face. She snorted a laugh, waving a hand dismissively at him. 

“Oh, what, so I can save myself for you?” 

Arthur rolled his eyes.

“You know it. But seriously… we miss you, Vivi. I expect you to call tomorrow and let me know how the party went. How many hearts you broke.” She blew him a kiss, and the video ended, leaving Arthur alone with a blank screen. For a moment, he just let himself be happy for her, even if he missed her with every fiber of his being.

God, he couldn’t wait for her to come home.

“Arthur?”

Yet again, Arthur found himself screaming at the sudden appearance of Lewis, throwing himself from the computer chair. His heart was thundering in his chest as he stared up at his friend, who was once more laughing at his fear.

“Jesus Christ, Lewis! Can you knock?!” He shrieked, which only had Lewis laughing harder. Arthur hauled himself back up to standing, dusting his pants off as he did.

“I didn’t want to interrupt your conversation,” Lewis replied, sounding way too smug to deal with. Arthur glared at him, leaning against the wall.

“Of course not. So you just… naturally appeared in my bedroom.”

“Naturally.”

Despite his best efforts, Arthur was smiling, hands shoved in his pockets.

“What’s going on, man?" 

“I just wanted to see who you were talking to,” Lewis admitted, glancing over to the computer. “Do all of her sisters sound like her?”

Arthur was silent for a moment, then burst into laughter.

“Okay, see?! It wasn’t just me! No, man, that _was_ Vivi!” He howled, the effect doubled when Lewis seemed to gawk.

“You’re shitting me.”

“No! I’m not! She’s got some kind of party with her family that’s all black tie and shit. Didn’t she look great?” He asked, wheezing at the end of his laugh. Arthur dug his hands out of his pockets to wipe the tears of laughter out of his eyes. Lewis’s humor was more muted, calmer.

“She really did,” He agreed with a nod.

“God, I’m so glad I didn’t go. I can’t do formal parties or any of that nonsense. I look like shit in a suit and can’t dance to save my life.” Lewis raised a brow, surprised.

“…You can’t dance?”

“Not like, all formal and shit. Waltzing or slow dancing. Never learned.” Arthur shrugged, suddenly self-conscious. He looked over to the window, feeling the smile drop from his face. “Uncle Lance didn’t have the money for a tux for prom or anything, and I never asked anyone.” 

“I see.”

“So, yeah. No dancing for this guy. It is safe to assume you can always count me out.”

“What if I taught you?”

The very moment Lewis asked, Arthur’s breath hitched. Everything in him screamed at him to get the fuck out of there before he said or did something stupid. There was no way this was going to end well.

But then…

As smart as he was telling himself to be, there was that traitorous part of his brain that wanted it. Wanted to have Lewis’s arms around him again, to pretend there was something more between them. Arthur worked his lower lip between his teeth, debating it.  
  
Fuck it. They’d gotten over Lewis dying. Surely, if this went bad, they could get past it, too. 

“Sure. Not doing anything else, anyway.” He was trying to be casual, but his voice sounded too tense in his ears. Or maybe that was just his own heartbeat, hammering away again. Arthur pulled himself off the wall and walked over to Lewis, ignoring everything screaming at him to turn and run. To save the delicate friendship they’d just now reforged. All of that went out the window when Lewis took his hand, leading them over to the middle of the room.

“Don’t step on my feet too bad, yeah?” Arthur joked, unable to focus on anything but the feeling of Lewis’s hand on his own. In life, Arthur had definitely been aware of how much Lewis dwarfed him. Even after his own growth, his friend had a solid foot of height on him. Adding in the supernatural swatch of flaming hair, and Lewis basically was a giant.

The feeling it gave Arthur wasn’t exactly a bad one. 

“Not something we have to worry about,” Lewis explained, amusement in his tone. 

“I have two left feet. No amount of ghost magic is gonna fix that,” Arthur disagreed, at least in good humor.

“Even if you were following, which you’re not, I’m still floating. I’d be really impressed if you could step on my feet above the ground,” his friend teased back, and… crap. It was not fair that even something as simple as bantering was getting him this flustered.

“Hang on. What do you mean, I’m not following?” 

“You want to learn how to dance, right? You never have?”

“Yeah…” Arthur agreed with a slight nod.  
  
“It’s easier to lead. Besides, if you were dancing with someone else, you’d probably be the one leading.”

Sure. That all made sense. That totally made sense. But that didn’t explain why it made Arthur even more nervous, the knot in his stomach rolling even harder. He managed to swallow, despite how thick his tongue suddenly felt.

“Okay,” Arthur agreed again. “Yeah, okay. So uh.”

“Left hand on my waist, since you’re leading. Your right hand holds mine.”

Jesus. He was going to fucking die. Arthur couldn’t manage any more coherent thoughts, and set his trembling hands against his friend’s waist. Lewis was thicker around the middle than he was, and his body still seemed so warm under Arthur’s palm. The well-pressed suit wore on his form so perfectly, accentuating his broad chest and thick arms. 

And that was to say nothing on his ass.

Okay. He could handle this. He could totally, definitely handle this in a completely heterosexual way.

“W-what about music?” Arthur squeaked. Right after he did so, Lewis raised a hand and snapped. That purple, electric current surged through his computer in his periphery, and suddenly the music clicked on. Some slow, soft song that Arthur couldn’t name.

“How’s that?” Lewis asked, still too amused by the whole situation. Arthur could only nod stupidly, staring down at his feet.

“It, uh. Good. It’s good.” God, he sounded stupid. Sounded stupid, felt stupid, and probably looked even stupider. Did people really enjoy this? Or was it some big, collective joke to make him look even worse? 

“Now. Listen to the music, get a feel for it. If we were more seriously dancing, you could use the hand I’m holding to lead me. You want it to be gentle and natural, not like you’re hauling me around,” Lewis explained, to which Arthur could only nod again.

The song wasn’t too fast, and Arthur could definitely keep a beat. Swallowing down his nerves, he took a small step forward and back. True to form, Lewis followed along like he’d done this a million times before. It was probably easier, dancing with someone who’s feet he didn’t have to worry about crushing. Instead, it gave him time to think about how nice it would probably feel to just lean his head against Lewis’s chest. There wouldn’t be a heartbeat, but that didn’t matter. Not when Lewis was so warm and real against him.

“See? You can dance just fine,” Lewis spoke, barely audible over the music. It took Arthur a moment to process that he was actually talking, and this wasn’t his imagination running away from him. He laughed breathlessly, eyes still planted on the ground.

“Yeah?" 

“Yeah. But you should really look up. It’s bad form not to look at your partner.”

Fuck. He was completely and totally fucked. With strength he didn’t know he had, Arthur looked up to meet Lewis’s eyes. Whatever expression was there, he couldn’t say. It was something he hadn’t seen in his friend before, and it left Arthur in even more of a state. Words failed him, and all he could think to do was continue moving, leading Lewis in...

Whatever the hell this dance was.

“Arthur.”

“Y-yeah?”

“What’re you thinking about?”

Arthur choked out a laugh, more of a strangled and dying noise than anything else.

“W-what do you mean?”

“You look so serious right now. What’s eating you?”

What was eating him was how good and how right this felt. How badly he wanted to move forward and kiss Lewis anywhere he could get his hands on. What his friend might look like now, missing that suit and tie. How much he wanted to be able to stop this moment and hold onto it forever. 

“Nothing really. Just—trying to focus on the music,” he answered instead, hedging a half-hearted smile. 

“The music that stopped five minutes ago?”

Oh. Oh, _fuck_. It totally had. Arthur immediately stopped, expression falling as he stared up to Lewis. But Lewis wasn’t looking away, meeting him with that same unreadable expression.

“Arthur.”

“T-thanks for the dance lesson! Man! I. Wow, Vivi is gonna be like! So impressed when she gets back!”

Whatever this was between them, whatever spell had fallen over them was broken. Lewis froze for just a moment, then pulled his hands back to himself. That expression was gone, back to the same guarded one he usually wore. Something kind of sad and something else. 

“Vivi,” he replied, voice devoid of any emotion. “Yeah. You’re really going to sweep her off her feet.”

…What?

“Lewis—“

“Good night, Arthur.” With that, his friend was gone, blinking out of the room between one breath and the next. Leaving Arthur there alone, standing in the middle of the room with his hands still raised for a body that wasn’t there. Suddenly cold without Lewis to hold onto anymore.

Whatever this was, whatever had just happened… he’d fucked it up somehow. It was a long, long time before he fell asleep that night, staring up at the ceiling that offered him no answers. As the sun crept over the horizon, Arthur couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d missed something important.

One step forward, two steps back.

 

* * *

 

 

There were people in the world who slept when they wanted to avoid things, and Arthur understood that on some level. It was like Lewis had said— sleeping meant you got to turn your brain off. The only problem for him was getting his thoughts to calm down long enough to actually fall asleep.   
  
No, Arthur was the kind of guy who did better when he was busy. The more he occupied his hands, the less occupied his mind. Taking over Uncle Lance’s shop when he wasn’t out solving mysteries was a blessing. Gave him something to do, something to come home to. Whether it was cars, motorcycles, computers or anything else, it was all good.

The first day after The Incident (as Arthur was now calling it), he flicked the shop light on and waited. Some higher power must’ve been looking out for him, it must’ve been. Not ten minutes after he’d hauled the garage door up, there was a group of bikers in for tune-ups. The desert road was tough on tires, Arthur _got it_. And really, he didn’t care.

Rough roads meant he had something to keep his hands busy.

Working on tire alignment had Arthur on his back through the night, occupied past sunrise and then some. By the time all the motorcycles were finished he was onto some old gaming laptop, and from there he eagerly dove into tuning up a minivan. It was just good, honest work.

With the music blasting from the radio, Arthur didn’t hear the approach of anybody walking up to the car. He caught the sight of shoes out the corner of his eye, and waved his hand out from underneath the car.

“Give me just a second, man!" 

“No need. We can chat like this.” It was Lewis, again, and Arthur damn near dropped the wrench he was holding onto himself. Unseen beneath the car, he adjusted his grip on the tool, and set back to work on the undercarriage. 

“Everything okay?” He asked with more confidence than he felt. It was easier, talking to Lewis when he wasn’t looking at him. Having a car to focus on helped too.

“How long have you been working, Arthur?” His friend asked, and just from the tone of his voice he could tell Lewis was frustrated. Arthur paused in his work, thinking.  
  
“Shit. Just a few hours now, I think.” In all honesty, he wasn’t sure. One project had just moved into the next, keeping Arthur’s mind off of The Incident. It was easier, thinking about oil and coolant instead of whatever he’d just fucked up. 

“Mhmm,” Lewis agreed noncommittally, sounding completely unimpressed. “You know, I forgot to look at the calendar this morning. What day is it today?” 

Shit. It was Tuesday, wasn’t it? He was pretty sure it was Tuesday.

“Tuuuuueeeesssday?” He hedged, frowning at the car. From where he stood, Lewis made an angry noise.

“It’s Friday.”

Shit. Well, _shit_.

“Can I get a do-over?” Arthur squeaked, knowing very well where this was going to go. Yet again he was about to get his ass chewed out for his sleeping habits. He mentally prepared himself, ready to tune out his friend’s lecture. 

What he _wasn’t_ ready for was the creeper seat to go flying out from under the van, just barely giving him the time to duck his head. When he looked up, Lewis had his boot firmly planted on the creeper, the plane of his leg guiding Arthur to look up at his face. The angle made his anger even more imposing, Lewis looming over him with a furious glare in his eye. 

“Get up.”

Fuck. That image was gonna be haunting his libido for a while. Arthur cleared his throat, trying to sit more upright.

“Look, I’m almost done with this part. Just let me fi—“

 _”No.”_ He wasn’t even given the chance to protest as his was hauling him up by the front of his shirt, fabric clutched by Lewis’s ghostly power. Yeah, he was _pissed_. Arthur gulped audibly, scrambling to get a hold of the other’s arms.  
  
“Hey, hey, wait! Hang on a second! I—“

“I don’t care if you’re pissed off at me, or what the hell is going on, I’m not going to sit back and let you run yourself into the ground. Vivi said to take matters into my own hands if you got like this,” Lewis snapped, the energy gripping onto Arthur even tighter. “So I decided to take things into _your_ hands.”  
  
“Wha—“

Arthur had always been something of a ghost magnet. Malicious spirits, benign ones, it didn’t matter—they were all drawn to Arthur for reasons he couldn’t explain. Not even Vivi had figured it out, and all she did was research this stuff.

Getting possessed wasn’t something that Arthur could adjust to. Apparently, being an easy target for ghosts meant that he was an even easier vessel. One minute, Lewis was there, and then he wasn’t, and Arthur could _feel_ his presence. It was like he was plunged into cold water, no longer in control of his own body. All he could do was watch, sat second seat to someone else playing this game. He could only see, not feel, as his body looked down to its hands in surprise.

“That was easier than I thought it would be,” Lewis said, from _his_ body, from _his_ mouth. This was, without a doubt, the most bizarre shit that had ever happened to him. Arthur couldn’t even voice his protest, just go along with whatever the hell Lewis had in mind.  
  
"Thanks?"

"...That's not a compliment."

He wasn’t going to think any further on that.

“Relax. I’m not going to hurt you,” Lewis-as-Arthur sighed, running a hand through his hair. He was already on his way out of the garage, at least having the decency to flick off the lights. For a moment, Arthur bucked against the possession, wanting to go back to the van again. 

“Absolutely not. If I can’t trust you to take care of yourself, I’ll do it for you.” They were rounding around into the kitchen now, where it seemed Lewis had already been. There was an assembled sandwich, already cut and prepped, waiting for him (them?) at the kitchen table. His body sat down and was picking the sandwich up.

“Do I need to make you drink, too, or have you at least been staying hydrated?” His body asked, and Arthur felt himself prickle in defense. He always kept water in the garage when he was working. He was crazy, yeah, but not _stupid_.

“No, you’re definitely stupid. Which is why it’s come to this. You can keep being a baby and drag this out, or you can make it easier for both of us.” With that, Lewis was digging into the sandwich, and immediately let out a contented moan.

Jesus. Think about cars. Think about cars. All he had to do was think about cars. 

“Oh my god, I missed food,” Lewis sighed to himself, swallowing the bite and taking another. This was definitely one of those recipes Lewis had appreciated when he was alive. Arthur had no idea what the hell it was, but even he could admit it tasted pretty good.

“Roasted pork with Havarti on toasted rosemary bread. The cranberry slaw was my own recipe,” Lewis explained, and immediately took another bite. Like this, Arthur wasn’t capable of blinking, but he had to wonder—

“Was this the plan all along? Nope. I figured I’d cook until you smelled the food and came to investigate. So when I finished and you hadn’t come in, I figured I could drag you in to eat like this.”

Okay. The finishing his thoughts thing was really, really weird. And now Arthur definitely had to just keep thinking about cars. Cars, car repairs, laptops.

_Nothing else._

“Is thinking about cars some sort of spite thing? Because, gotta say, it’s not really working. It’s mildly annoying at best,” Lewis responded, and kept on eating. If that was what got him through this, sure. Yeah. It was totally a spite thing.

“We need to talk, Arthur.”

…Jesus, he really hated that phrase.

“Since I have your attention, and you can’t do anything to get away—“

Bad. Bad. _Very_ bad.

“And you’re not going to distract me with that anymore,” Lewis continued, folding his arms in the body that wasn’t his. “What’s going on with you? Seriously. I thought… I thought we were alright."

They were! Everything was fine, Arthur wanted to say. But at the current moment, he couldn’t. Things ‘were’ fine, and he couldn’t have been happier. Really. 

“But you’re avoiding me.”

It was for his own good. It really was. Keeping Lewis out of his thoughts was really fucking difficult when Lewis was _in his head_ , picking up on every weird little thought that crossed his mind. He was completely, totally powerless, subject to whatever Lewis wanted to do, and it was—

“You’re still scared of me?” There was so much pain, so much _hurt_ in Lewis’s voice that Arthur felt himself falter. No, he wasn’t scared. It was… sort of the exact opposite, really. But Jesus, he couldn’t explain things like this. Lewis stood up from the table and went to put the plate in the sink, sighing.

“No, it’s really not easy to talk like this. But it’s for your own good. I’m going to get you up to bed—“

Not going to over-analyze that one, nope.

“—and then we’re talking. No excuses, no more hiding. Got it?”

What was he supposed to say? No? There was only so long Arthur could keep things hidden in his own head, and it wasn’t fair to either of them to keep going like this. Not when Lewis was so obviously worried (especially if he went so far as to contact Vivi), and Arthur was driving himself into the ground.

He wasn’t even moving anymore, and Jesus he was tired. That was one hell of a feeling. Internally, Arthur wondered if life couldn’t get more fucked up than this. On the stairway up to his room, Lewis in his body laughed.

“No, probably not. But things always look better in the morning, right?” Through the door and into the room, then Lewis was stripping the shirt off of his body. The strangest part was that he could almost feel Lewis’s hands—not his own—where skin met skin. Those strong, calloused fingers, ghosting over his body, and—

Cars. Trucks. Cars and trucks and Uncle Lance accidentally walking in on him with porn that one time. At _that_ thought, Lewis made a noise like a dying animal, and threw his now-removed pants and shirt into the corner.

“Dude. Didn’t need that one. Come on.” With that, Lewis was crawling into the bed, throwing them both under the covers. In that particular moment, Arthur had no idea how he was going to sleep. There was no way he was going to be able to calm his thoughts enough to go under.

“I’m pretty sure as soon as I go out, you do too. Or you just suffer. Either way, your body will at least get some rest.”

…Wow. Major dick move. But Lewis _had_ always had that weird ability to fall asleep almost anywhere at the drop of a hat, something Arthur had always envied in him. Among other things. He eventually forced himself to just focus on the memory of a song, playing the notes again and again. Something soft and gentle that he couldn’t quite remember the name of, just to keep his mind from wandering.

As he fell asleep, Lewis—who most assuredly knew the name of the song they’d danced to—smiled.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Life went on hold the minute they received an emergency call. It just so happened that the Mystery Skulls were the only bona fide ghost hunters in the area, and supernatural sightings had been on the rise. Whether it was related to Lewis’s disappearance or not, they couldn’t say. All Arthur knew was that he’d gotten the call, and even if he didn’t want to, he’d answered it.

The mansion was one that spiraled every which way, winding corridors leading to dead ends and rooms that made no sense. Every time Arthur thought he was closer to the center of it, he was back in some wing he’d left moments ago. Annoyance was starting to turn to fear, and every shadow looked ominous now. When had the sun set? How long had he been here?

As far as he knew, the mansion had three stories. The owner—or maybe they were just visiting, he couldn’t recall the specifics—had seen some sort of ghost roaming the corridors. There weren’t many details, except that it looked like a young man. What they _did_ know was that the ghost seemed furious, hunting tirelessly for something. The room and floor didn’t matter—he could be anywhere, they’d said through tears.

Which was how Arthur had been roped into this in the first place. Vivi or Lewis would’ve done better, but they needed help. Who was he to say no? So Arthur had headed off, leaving the receiving room and pushing into the depths of the mansion.  
  
All of the hallways looked the same. Every single one was dark and foreboding, portraits of old people lining the walls. What little light his flashlight gave off only cast shadows off the empty candlesticks, warping the hallways to seem even longer.

Somewhere nearby, something crashed and shattered. Arthur jumped, and decided to double back towards the middle. Just to get some better batteries for his flashlight. Maybe call Vivi and get her opinion.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t going to do this—he was! He just wasn’t as smart as Vivi or as brave as Lewis. He was just… the scared one. The technology guy. Not the mystery-solving, door-kicking badass his friends were. Arthur ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

Right. This wasn’t the time to be getting down on himself. He had to focus on fixing this stupid flashlight that kept going out. The moment he flicked it off, going to check the batteries, a door creaked open from where he’d just been. Shit. _Shit,_ that was not good. He was supposed to be here alone, and that meant either someone living was here fucking things up, or…

…Or they really were dealing with a ghost. Right. Okay. He could handle this.

His walking turned to jogging, and Arthur kicked up his pace to get back to the entryway. Maybe he was seeing things, but out the corner of his eye, he swore there was a faint, pulsing light. And it was only getting brighter. Swallowing his nerves, Arthur kept up the pace. If he hooked a right here, he’d get back to that big second room sitting floor, and he could work from there. As soon as he hit the corner, Arthur booked it into a full sprint, and threw himself down the second door on the right. It was, at least, a quick place to hide and wait for the thing to pass him. And now he was in…

…a bedroom? Jesus, how big _was_ this place?

If Vivi was here, she’d know the way out of it. Or, at least, she’d be good company. A hell of a lot better than just wandering around blind. Arthur whacked his flashlight against his leg, mentally begging the thing to stay on. Just until he got out of here. It seemed like the universe was out to get him today, because the stupid thing went out for good.

“Shit.”

Behind him, the door slammed shut. Arthur jumped, immediately sprinting back and trying to pry it open. The door wouldn’t budge, no matter how hard he pulled. Arthur swore under his breath, giving it one last good tug in desperation. No such luck. He hit the floor with a solid _thunk_ , terror taking over him. 

It only got worse when the specter that inhabited this house manifested in the room. Wreathed in flames, he cut an imposing figure, boasting at least a foot of height on Arthur. From his current position on the floor, he was a dead man sitting. The second he looked up, the ghost snatched him up by the front of his shirt and threw him clean across the room. His back slammed into the headboard and Arthur tumbled onto the mattress, dazed as he stared up at the ceiling.

The specter drew in towards the bed, the heart on his chest pulsing in time with what was promising to be a terrible headache. Before Arthur could react, his huge arms had him pinned on either side, pressing him into the bed.

“Why are you here?” The ghost snapped at him, venom dripping from is voice. Those intense purple eyes bore into him, and Arthur couldn’t look away. There was something so _familiar_ about those eyes it almost hurt. But what was it? What was he missing? His own heart threatened to beat out of his chest, and Arthur couldn’t help but wonder if this was the end. 

“Are you looking for your friend?” The ghost mocked him, tipping its skeletal head to the side. His hand found Arthur’s throat, but the death grip never came—instead, his fingers curled up and around Arthur’s jaw, almost like a lover.

What the _fuck_ was happening?

“What did he look like, Arthur? Would you recognize him if you found him?” He asked, brushing a thumb over his cheek. Arthur’s breath stopped, staring up at the familiar figure.

“Even if you were staring right at him?”

It all clicked into place. The skeletal image faded, and it was Lewis staring back at him, eyes dark except for those vivid purple irises staring into him. But there was his friend, staring at him with hatred in his eyes.

“Lewis! I—“

“What were you here for, Arthur?” He asked again, and this time the hand _did_ go around his neck. It squeezed at his throat, not letting him draw another breath. Arthur rasped, clawing at Lewis’s arm to pull him off. But he didn’t budge, didn’t let up in the assault.

“Is this what you wanted? To see what a monster you made me?” His voice was a dull roar in Arthur’s ears, the blood rushing in his head.

“Lewis,” he pleaded again, desperate and breathless. This time, his friend’s hand let up, letting him breathe once more. Arthur sucked in a desperate breath, panting desperately as he reclaimed air. Before he could speak again, Lewis changed in front of him, that skeletal image back again. His thumb, still so broad and rough even as a ghost, easily slipped past Arthur’s lips and into his mouth. 

“Or were you wanting something else?” Lewis’s voice dropped, suddenly low and rough, and Arthur gasped around his thumb. Lewis edged it in further, still framing Arthur against the bed with his bulk. It didn’t even seem under his control when he swirled his tongue around the digit, watching the hunger creep into Lewis’s expression. He sucked on Lewis’s thumb like a man starved, and all but whined when it was pulled away.

“All you ever wanted to do was make me happy, wasn’t it? Poor, poor Arthur. You’re so desperate for me, even this—“ Lewis pressed the heel of his hand against Arthur’s neck, and the burning pain had him gasping for entirely different reasons now. 

“Even this makes you feel good, doesn’t it?” God, it did. It really did. Arthur nodded dumbly in response, which seemed to make Lewis happy. Not that he could really tell, when his friend was in this state. But he’d grasp at any straw he could, if it meant Lewis would touch him again.

“Do you really want to make me happy, Arthur?” Lewis asked, and of course he did. God. Why else would he have been searching across the country for him, combing everywhere he could think his friend might’ve been? Lewis rose and hovered near the edge of the bed, and Arthur noticed that he wasn’t entirely unaffected by this exchange. Those tight black pants betrayed his arousal, thick cock pressed against the fabric. Arthur licked his lips, and looked up to meet Lewis’s eyes. Lewis jerked his head for Arthur to come closer, and who was he to say no to an invitation like that?

He scooted eagerly to the bedside, heart still pounding away as he did. Only now it wasn’t fear—it had turned excitement and nerves at the prospect of getting his hands on Lewis. A proverbial look beneath the kimono, so to speak. Arthur exhaled a shaky breath, and laid one of his hands on Lewis’s waist. Bracing himself, he nuzzled his face against Lewis’s crotch, feeling the thick swell of the man’s cock.

“Oh, Arthur,” Lewis sighed, voice shaky even though he didn’t breathe. It only spurred Arthur on more, pushing him to mouth against the fabric of his pants.

“Lewis,” he moaned, running up with his tongue over the bulge.  
  
“Arthur.” The tone was different, this time, and Arthur couldn’t understand why. He paused in his efforts for a moment, looking up.

“Arthur? ARTHUR!”

Arthur snapped awake in bed, shooting up with a start. Just across from him, Lewis hovered near the bed. The skeletal features of his face took on that pinkish-purple, and he almost looked…

Embarrassed?

“Lewis, uh.” Arthur cleared his throat, trying to ignore the break in his voice. “You okay, man?”

Lewis looked away, and at that very moment Arthur recalled the subject of his dream. How he had all but thrown himself at his best friend, been so desperate for—

“I thought,” Lewis interrupted, his own voice quiet and embarrassed, “you were having a nightmare. About me. That… for all we’d talked about it, you were still scared of me. You, um. You were saying my name. 

Oh _no_.

“I figured… I might as well see what kind of nightmare it was. And jumped in on your dream.”

All the color drained from Arthur’s face and any lingering arousal he’d felt was dead and gone in that moment. Hell, it was possible he’d never be able to be turned on again. Standing up from the bed, he silently moved past Lewis and opened up the bedroom window. He took the opportunity to look down, back to Lewis, then down to the pavement once more. 

“So this is like, three stories high. Do you think that’s enough of a fall to kill me?” 

Lewis didn’t find the fatalistic humor quite as funny (which made no damn sense, he was younger than Arthur and should’ve been all over that softcore nihilism), using his powers to slam the window shut. Arthur stumbled away from the window, and slammed right into Lewis once more. The other man caught his wrist, a firm enough grip that he couldn’t worm his way out of.  
  
“I was joking! Mostly!” Arthur squeaked, completely and totally undignified. For a moment, Lewis looked furious again—he sighed to himself, the anger leaving him.

“I just want to talk, Arthur. Please. I don’t… I don’t understand what’s going on with you.” He sounded so defeated, so tired that a pang of guilt ran through Arthur’s chest. 

“What’s there to understand? I’m kind of— no. I’m pretty fucking crazy about you,” Arthur admitted, shoulders slumping. But Lewis still held on, not letting him go.

“I thought you liked Vivi.”

“As like, a sister!” Arthur frowned, wishing they weren’t having this conversation. But there wasn’t any way around it now, was there? He had to bite the bullet eventually, and that dream had just been his luck running out.

“Then why did you bring her up when I was getting you to dance?” There was an accusation in there, and Arthur tugged absently at his wrist. Lewis didn’t budge at all. 

No getting out of this one.

“I was trying to cover my own ass! I didn’t want—I didn’t want you to realize how far gone I was for you. It was… easier.” For his dignity, for sparing his feelings, whatever he wanted to call it. It was all the same in the end: he was a giant chickenshit about his feelings. Cause really, what was going to happen? Lewis was going to decide not to be his friend anymore because he had a big gay crush on him? After he’d shoved the guy off a cliff?

Lewis finally let go of his wrist, and pinched at the air where his nose was, once. A habit carried over from when he was alive, and Arthur definitely was _not_ going to laugh.

“Do you really think that dance was something two straight guys would do?”

“Lew—“  
  
“Arthur. Was there _anything_ heterosexual about that?”

“I mean—“

“We’re not two bros chilling out in a hot tub. We’re not five feet apart. We’re the exact opposite right now, really,” Lewis gestured to the mere inches between them. Arthur laughed shakily, the attempt at a joke at least kind of calming his frayed nerves. There was a burst of pinkish-purple flame, and Lewis looked like himself once again. Or like he had in life. He stepped even closer into Arthur’s space, the spectral equivalent of breath across his face.

“That ghost of envy, from when I died… didn’t it possess you because you were jealous of Vivi and I?”

Arthur sucked in a nervous breath, trying to laugh.

“I wasn’t jealous of _you_ , buddy.”

There was a long, quiet pause

“You were jealous of Vivi. Being with me.”

“Yeah.”

At the exact moment Arthur went to look down, Lewis took hold of his chin and tipped his face upwards. He could feel the heat radiating off of his friend, the two of them nearly pressed together. 

“Is it okay if I kiss you now?”

“Lewis,” Arthur nearly laughed, the absurdity of this whole day turning into _this_ catching up to him, “I’m gonna be kinda pissed if you don’t.”

That was all the urging Lewis needed. He closed the last bit of distance between them, pressing their lips together. It was soft and sweet, Lewis’s hand falling to his waist to hold him. Every brush of lips together was electric, better than anything Arthur could’ve imagined. He tipped his head sideways and scraped his teeth across Lewis’s lip, getting him to gasp. 

Kissing Lewis had Arthur torn. On the one hand, this was everything he’d ever wanted and more. On the other hand, there was no way he was going to be able to control himself if they kept this up. Lewis was backing him up towards the bed, their kisses growing more heated and hungry. When Lewis ran his tongue along the seam of Arthur’s lips, he opened his mouth eagerly to deepen the kiss.

“Yeah, that’s it,” Lewis groaned, dropping them onto the bed. “Just let me in. Just like that.”

Lewis pressed down against him and Arthur was once more trapped against the bed by his heft. Only this time, it wasn’t a dream. It really was Lewis, rolling their hips together as the kisses picked up fervor. Feeling the swell of Lewis’s cock against him, realizing that he was just as into this as he was, Arthur snapped his head back with a gasp. With his mouth free, Lewis moved his attention down to Arthur’s neck, raking over the skin with his teeth. He bit down at the juncture of his neck and shoulder, then worked it over with his tongue as if to soothe the pain.

“Lewis,” Arthur rasped, bucking his hips up at one particularly good press of teeth into his skin. Lewis pushed him back down, and moved to bite the lobe of Arthur’s ear.

“Does that feel good?” Lewis asked, almost shy considering his actions. If he was trying to put on some kind of show for Arthur, he was doing a grand fucking job. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this hard, wanted someone so fucking badly.

“Y-yeah,” he croaked, the sound turning to a strangled cry as Lewis sucked hard against his neck. God, he was going to be covered in hickeys tomorrow, and he couldn’t wait. His prosthetic hand clawed at the fabric of Lewis’s shirt, and he snaked his flesh and blood one under it to feel of the skin there. Even if it was just some kind of spell to make him look human, it sure as hell felt real. He was warm and solid, every muscle taught as he continued his assault against Arthur’s neck.

When he forced his eyes open again, Arthur just glimpsed the sight of something weird. It seemed like Lewis’s image was… warping. He was way more focused on other things than someone potentially getting laid should be. Arthur pulled Lewis up by the collar, panting as he tried to speak.

“L-Lewis, wait,” he managed, getting the other to stop. Lewis looked at him with concern, and fuck. Fuck, he was such a great guy.

“What’s wrong?”

“Is it, um. Do you have a hard time looking like that?” The question had Lewis hesitating, brows furrowed in confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“Looking human, I mean. It seems like you’re… not all here.” Or maybe he was just misinterpreting things. Lewis sat a little more upright, frowning to himself.

“It… does take a little bit of focusing. But I didn’t want you to freak out.”

“Lewis. Man.” Arthur cleared his throat, a goofy smile on his features. “You uh. You saw my dream. It’s… it’s not a problem for me, if you look all boney.”

“Arthur—“

“I’m still down to bone, honestly.”

In a flash of flame, Lewis was back to his more undead form as he slammed Arthur against the bed. Arthur couldn’t help but laugh, even as the rush of being thrown around had him raring to go yet again. 

“Are you trying to piss me off with bad jokes?” Lewis growled against his skin, and Arthur nodded.

“Is it working?”

“ _Yes,_ ” Lewis responded, moving to strip off his own jacket. Arthur wasn’t entirely sure how spectral clothing worked, but his mouth still watered at the prospect of having Lewis naked. As the dark leather jacket came away, Arthur was exposed to the solid planes of Lewis’s body. It was just the same as it had been when he was alive except for a more transparent look. Arthur immediately set his hands on Lewis’s chest, running his thumbs out and over to his nipples.

“Ah-ah,” Lewis chided him, lifting his arms away. Arthur gave a distressed sound, trying to regain that contact. It wasn’t like he was going to overpower Lewis, though. The other man shrugged fully out of the jacket, then—like in that dream—slid his gloved thumb into Arthur’s mouth.

“I didn’t say you could touch, did I?” Around the thick digit of Lewis’s thumb, Arthur gave the best _nuh-uh_ he could manage. Lewis looked down at him, still straddling his waist, and almost looked like he was smiling.

“Why don’t you go ahead,” he started, running the thumb down the length of Arthur’s tongue, “and take these off for me?”

Fuck. He didn’t need to be told twice. Pulling his head back, Arthur bit onto the loose tip of fabric above Lewis’s thumb and tugged. It slipped away from his fingers, bit by bit, until Lewis’s hand came free. He immediately slipped it down to tweak one of Arthur’s nipples, causing him to cry out in response.

“Not yet, Arthur,” Lewis teased, tutting yet again. His mouth was filled yet again as Lewis slipped the leather-clad middle and index finger into his mouth and crooked them against the flesh of his tongue. Arthur moaned around them, letting himself savor the feeling of how _big_ those two fingers felt in his mouth. God. If just his fingers were this big…

“You’re really enjoying that, aren’t you.” There was no question to it, just awe in Lewis’s voice as those firey eyes bore into him. In response, Arthur hollowed his cheeks and sucked back, taking the time to enjoy this. Lewis’s heart seemed to pulse faster on his chest as he watched Arthur work his way down the length of the fingers. The room was quiet except for the wet sounds of Arthur’s mouth around the leather, almost managing to get Lewis’s fingers to the back of his throat.

When Lewis groaned at the sight, Arthur finally pulled off those thick fingers and tugged on the glove with his teeth. It slipped free of Lewis’s hand, and before Arthur could even react, his fingers were back in his mouth once more.

“Keep going,” Lewis growled, not leaving any room for argument. Arthur eagerly slipped his tongue between the fingers, working over each of them lovingly. Somehow in his ghostly form, Lewis still had the calluses born from hard work in the kitchen. Arthur raked his teeth over the pads of Lewis’s fingers, looking up to meet his eyes as he did. In the black nothingness of Lewis’s eyes, his pupils dilated. Arthur let the fingers out of his mouth, the spectral digits thoroughly wetted by his saliva.  
  
“I think I’ve got a better idea of what to use my mouth on.” Arthur slid his hand down Lewis’s chest and squeezed at the front of his pants. He hadn’t been exaggerating on the size of his friend’s cock, it seemed. They’d changed in the same room plenty of times over the years, what with hotels being expensive and the van being small. It hadn’t ever been deliberate—as shitty as Arthur could be, there were lines even he wouldn’t cross—but the reality lived up to the few glimpses he’d seen. Just the heft of it had Arthur’s mouth watering, feeling the thickness of it through the fabric of his pants.

“As much was I want to get your mouth on my cock,” Lewis hissed out, reaching down to press Arthur’s hand more firmly against the hardness, “I have something I want to try.” 

“Yeah? What’s that?”

In an instant, Lewis was gone from in front of him. It seemed like he was alone on the bed, hard and wanting. The only problem was that he couldn’t move. 

“Well. Being in control of your body when you’re turned on is… certainly something, I have to say.” It wasn’t him speaking anymore, it was Lewis possessing him again. Only this time, it wasn’t like he was just observing. Arthur could feel everything in perfect detail, could sense the press of Lewis into every corner of his mind. 

“Is this why you had to keep thinking about cars last time, Arthur? Letting me be in total control was going to turn you on?” Arthur would’ve nodded if he could, but for the time being, he thought _yes_ in response. Lewis laughed, dark and rich.

“How about I take care of you this time to make up for it?” Fuck, that sounded good. His hand—Lewis’s hand—slid down his bare chest, and the best part was, it still _felt_ like Lewis. The rough calluses, the size were all his, even if he was in Arthur’s body. His fingers twisted around the smattering of hair on his chest, then moved to tweak at a nipple.

It was Lewis’s hands all over his body, Lewis’s hands making him come undone. Those thick fingers rolled around that nipple as the other hand trailed down and took hold of his cock. At the same time he felt his own hand—Lewis’s hand—firm around him, he could feel the heft of Lewis’s dick. So much thicker than his own, hot and heavy in a way that made Arthur shudder.

Lewis ran his hand down the length of their cock, the feeling like wildfire on Arthur’s nerves. It was incredible and indescribable. Every motion felt like it was going to send him over the edge, the two of them collectively gasping.

“Arth—Arthur,” Lewis rasped, wrist twisting near the head of his cock. Not being able to make any noise, not able to cry out was its own sweet torture.

“You’re so good for me, aren’t you. Wanted this for so long.”

 _Lewis_ , Arthur thought. God. His thumb ran over the head of Arthur’s cock, dipping hard into the slit. He was on the verge of screaming, only made worse when Lewis let go.

_Lewis, I—I can’t—I’m going to—_

“Then let go. Go ahead and cum for me,” Lewis urged him. As good as it would probably be, Arthur held on. The metaphorical breaks were thrown, and Lewis let up on his efforts. 

“Arthur? Are you okay?” The domineering attitude was gone, back to the Lewis who would give anything for anyone. The worry and concern radiated off of him, seeping into every corner of his mind.

_Can you—_

“What do you need me to do?”

_Can you let me go?_

The very moment he’d asked it, Lewis let him go. Arthur shuddered and nearly doubled over, the sensation of feeling his and Lewis’s arousal together nearly overwhelming him. Before Lewis could move away, Arthur had him pinned to the bed, moving as fast as he could to tug down the zipper on his pants. He slipped his hand in and tugged Lewis’s cock free.

Even if he wasn’t human anymore, Lewis’s cock was still gorgeous. It was thick and hefty, making it even more enticing. Arthur licked his lips as he worked his hand down its length, revealing the head. It throbbed in his hand, the pink-purple glow pulsing in time with his heart.

“I—I wanted to see you like this,” Arthur explained with a nervous laugh. Still working Lewis’s cock with his good hand, he pressed his face against his friend’s chest. There was no audible heartbeat, but to his right, the floating heart thrummed a staccato rhythm.

“We can—“ Arthur spoke breathlessly, zeroing in on Lewis’s heart. “We can—always— mess with the possession thing later. But I wanna see you this time.”

“How do you know there’s going to be a nex—“ Lewis’s comment died in his throat with a strangled noise as Arthur licked up the length of the pulsating heart, looking him dead in the eye as he did. He brought his prosthetic hand up to squeeze the heart as his flesh one stroked up and down Lewis’s dick.

“Is that—Is that good?” He asked, just a little nervously. If he hadn’t been looking for it, Arthur might’ve missed the tiny nod Lewis gave. Well then. He traced his thumb around the heart, following the path with his tongue. As he pulled back, strands of saliva clung to the erratically beating heart and to his tongue. The sight was absolutely filthy, and Arthur dove in to make it even worse. He reached the top of the heart and took one of the rounded sides into his mouth, giving Lewis’s cock a solid tug as he did.

“Arthur—“ Precum was leaking from Lewis’s dick now, the same pinkish purple tint to it as the rest of him. Arthur stopped sucking on the quivering heart for just long enough to bring his slicked up hand to his mouth and took a deliberate swipe of pre into his mouth. Instead of the salty, bitter taste he’d been expecting, it was almost candy sweet. Arthur blinked in surprise, then looked up to Lewis as he fully worked his fingers into his mouth. It was still thick, still rolled on his tongue just right. He slipped his fingers back out and onto Lewis’s cock, relishing the taste. Tongue still wet with pre, Arthur went back to that heart, and Lewis _sobbed_.

“I’m—I’m not going to— lah—“ Lewis’s hips bucked, and Arthur pulled at his cock in time with the motion. He was so close to losing it, he could tell. Arthur let up on his assault on Lewis’s heart, and shifted to get his mouth back on his dick.

Lewis threaded his fingers into Arthur’s hair, and with another buck of his hips, he was cumming. His cock throbbed, pinkish cum spurting out and into Arthur’s mouth. There was too much before he could manage to swallow, and he pulled back—thick ropes of the stuff landed on his face.

That was an image Arthur wasn’t going to be forgetting for a while— Lewis, tugging his hair for dear life as his chest muscles clenched. Each motion had Lewis cumming more, until finally he let go, rasping with his head thrown back.

“Fuck,” Arthur laughed breathlessly, swiping the cum off his face with his thumb and licking it off. The stuff was like tart raspberry, and if Arthur wasn’t crazy about Lewis’s dick before, this just pushed him over the edge.

“Arthur, you’re going to _kill_ me. _Again_.” Lewis murmured, sitting upright once more. One of his hands slipped into Arthur’s boxers, and Arthur could’ve laughed. Like he was going to last long at all. That rough, strong hand slid over his cock and dipped down to work at his balls. One gentle squeeze and Arthur could feel himself falling apart. His mouth fell open involuntarily, and Lewis wiped more of his cum into Arthur’s mouth. He gladly licked it away, making a show of swallowing around Lewis’s fingers. 

“Is it such a bad way to go?” Cause really, if this was how he had to die—sexed to death with the object of his affections—that’d be fine in Arthur’s book. Rather than say anything, Lewis worked at his balls again. When he shifted up to attend to Arthur’s cock and turned his wrist, Arthur was gone. Lewis murmured in his ear as he came, stroking him through his orgasm. All Arthur could do was grasp onto Lewis’s shoulders, rocking along with the timing of his hand. When he was finally spent, he had his head on Lewis’s shoulder, breath coming in shaky bursts.

“Hey, Lewis?”

“…Yeah?”

“If that’s how I’m gonna die, you might need to do that again. Or a few more times. Just to really make sure you kill me.”

 

* * *

 

 

So he was still ready as all hell for Vivi to get back, but the waiting wasn’t so bad. In between working on jobs and investigating mysteries, the days were filled with learning this new thing between him and Lewis. Sometimes it was quiet, soft kisses in the morning smattered down Lewis’s back between his shoulder blades. Other times it was rough, heated sex in the back of the van, face pressed to the glass as Lewis fucked into him.

The steps weren’t the same anymore for either of them. The rhythm was changed forever, something brilliant and new. That wasn’t to say it was always easy, but… talking about it was getting easier.

When the video call rang into the silence, Arthur scrambled to the laptop to click accept. Vivi’s face lit up the screen, bright and cheerful.

“Vivi! Hey! How are you?” He asked, falling into his desk chair. There was something weird in Vivi’s expression—for some reason, she wasn’t quite meeting his eye. Her glance went down to his neck, and then the grin was back ten-fold. 

“You, uh. You gonna tell me what’s going on?”

Vivi cracked, bursting into hysterical laughter that she could barely contain. Arthur frowned, suddenly self-conscious. Was it the shirtless thing? He rubbed at his neck absently, wincing when he hit one of the tender bruises left there by—

_Oh._

“Oh, shit.” He winced, realizing exactly what had set her off. On her side of the world, Vivi was doubled over, nearly sobbing in delight at the revelation. 

“Mystery! Mystery, holy shit! You owe me fifty bucks!” She hollered back, and Arthur felt himself go red.

“W-why were you making bets with Mystery?!”

“Cause he puts up the money! Duh!” She managed to sit back up, hand held out to the side. Mystery trotted on screen, money in his mouth, and deposited the bill into her hand with a _hmph_.

“I don’t like you, Vivi.”

“But you LOOOOOVE Lewis! And clearly he loves you! Oh my god, I KNEW you two were gonna break when I left!” Arthur had his head in his hands, wondering if he could just die.

“I’m hanging up—“

“So you can go back to fuckin—“ _CLICK_. The screen went dead, and Arthur sat in silence, knowing he’d get shit for that later. But it was fine. He’d just have to go and let Lewis know that Vivi had caught on and would probably give them no end of shit for it on her return. He stood up again, smiling to himself as he made his way to the kitchen to go join Lewis for breakfast.

God, he couldn’t wait for them all to be together again.

**Author's Note:**

> Well. There it is, folks. The fever dream nightmare child that many of you have been waiting for. What started as an excuse for a nasty PWP grew into... this monstrosity. I'd like to offer my thanks to everyone who supported me in writing this, everyone who read my excerpts and kept me going. There's too many of you to name, but you all know who you are.
> 
> This is, somehow, the longest thing I've ever written, and I clocked time at just under two weeks. If you'd like to see more, want to yell at me about this, or want to try to poison me with more ideas to take over my brain, you can find me at javertsconfusedboner.tumblr.com
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it.


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